While far from the worst-performing S&P 500 stock of 2024, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been faced with numerous challenges this year.
The big tech firm has been slow to join the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom, though AAPL is allegedly working on its own offering. The company has also given up on its multi-year electric vehicle (EV) project – possibly a prudent choice given the current state of the industry in the U.S.
Additionally, while Apple did launch the Vision Pro VR/AR kit, the technology is yet to kickstart a revolution, and even if it does – judging by the patterns emerging from the release of the initial iPhone – it may not cause a stock market surge until close to 2030.
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This year also saw Apple toppled as the world’s biggest company by market cap as its main rival – Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) – took the throne in January.
Is an Apple stock crash imminent?
Finally, adding to Apple’s 2024 woes, the 50-day moving average for AAPL shares crossed below the 200-day moving average meaning that the stock chart for the company flashed the Death Cross – a strong bearish technical analysis (TA) signal – in mid-March 2024.
The last time the signal appeared on the Apple chart was in June 2022, and it resulted in a swift drop from $145 to $131, followed by a climb to $172 in August and another crash that bottomed close to $129 at the very start of 2023.
Other technical analysis tools are also mixed to bearish about AAPL shares, per the data retrieved from TradingView on March 15.
Analysis based on the last month of trading rates Apple as an overall “buy” with moving averages (MA) reading “strong buy” but oscillators hinting that selling is the better option. The weekly performance leads to oscillators turning to “buy” but MA to “sell,” and the latest 24 hours lead to AAPL being rated as an overall “sell.”
Apple stock price chart
Whether the Death Cross leads to Apple stock experiencing a significant drop or not, fact is that the big tech stock hasn’t been doing particularly well in 2024. Year-to-date (YTD) AAPL shares declined 6.81%.
The firm’s monthly chart is similarly negative, with a 5.91% decline, but the last week witnessed a 2.36% climb. Apple stock ended the last full trading day – Thursday, March 14 – 1.09% in the green at $173.
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Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
